The geopolitics of maritime straits: from vulnerability to strategies for securing global trade flows

Abstract

Today more than ever, in a world of geopolitical upheaval characterised by the resurgence of excessive force in international relations, maritime straits lie at the heart of global conflict dynamics. As indispensable hubs in the connectivity of the world system’s maritime trade flows, they are de facto strategic chokepoints that are the subject of rivalry and tension between major powers. Viewed from this specific angle, ensuring their security becomes a priority for the freedom of maritime navigation and the stability of the economic and energy order of the world’s economies. It is from this perspective that this article sets out to examine maritime straits as vital pivot points where rivalries for power over maritime spaces converge. At the same time, it highlights the various strategies employed by multiple actors to ensure their security and control. These operational methods are very often far from complying with the normative framework and principles of good international maritime governance, despite these being clearly set out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Fundamentally, through an interpretative geopolitical approach, this analysis aims to highlight the emergence of new international power dynamics, coupled with new hybrid threats, which are undermining the security instruments that have prevailed until now. Maritime straits are thus moving beyond their role as transit chokepoints to become major theatres of conflict capable of reshaping regional and continental balances of power.